VIOLET

In 2019 the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota underwent severe flooding that the Smithsonian reported, "created a humanitarian crisis," that left 8,000 without access to water, and forced countless others from their homes.

When I read about this, I wanted to see it and experience what the people there were up against.

I made a lot of friends in the town of Pine Ridge and across the Reservation on that first trip.

One was a kind widow in Wounded Knee that spoke softly, and even with all that she had endured (she had no running water and the roads were mostly impassable), she retained a fantastic sense of humor.

Her name was Violet Never Misses A Shot.

I was sad to learn today from her niece that she died last week.

She was 58.